Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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89. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development the funding that will be provided for the re-development of derelict or vacant buildings for community use; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45181/22]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy Alan Dillon for putting in this question, which I am taking on his behalf. Everyone knows that the vacancy and dereliction of community buildings in our towns and villages are a blight not only on those towns, but they are a missed opportunity to deliver an asset that can be really valuable, not to mention the impact they can have on better climate policy. I urge the Minister to take this very seriously.

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. The challenges relating to vacancy and dereliction are clearly recognised within Our Rural Future. Earlier this year, the Government published Town Centre First - A Policy Approach for Irish Towns. This is a whole-of-government policy and aims to tackle vacancy, combat dereliction and breathe new life into our town centres. The policy is underpinned by significant levels of public investment spread across major Government schemes, such as the rural regeneration and development fund, the urban regeneration and development fund, the Croí Cónaithe fund and the town and village renewal scheme.

This year's town and village renewal scheme launched on 27 May with funding of €17 million. As part of this year's scheme, I have already approved funding of €7.5 million under the building acquisitions measure for 36 vacant and derelict buildings to be purchased by local authorities in rural towns and villages for development as community assets. This includes the revitalisation of old Garda stations, bank buildings and courthouses for community use. In August, I announced €2.6 million for 26 rural towns to implement the streetscape enhancement measure to add colour and vibrancy to our town centres. Further funding is available under my Department's rural regeneration and development fund, as well as the recently launched Croí Cónaithe fund.

I have also provided funding for the recruitment of town regeneration officers and the development of Town Centre First masterplans across the country. These supports will further help local communities to ensure the regeneration of their local towns and villages and to address issues relating to vacancy and dereliction. I am committed to ensuring that the continued roll-out of the Town Centre First policy will work to deliver on the goal of revitalising rural towns and villages as set out in Our Rural Future.

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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While I absolutely agree that the integrated approach in Town Centre First is the correct approach, I urge the Minister to consider a cross-government strategy involving all Ministers to look at how we address refurbishment of derelict buildings, not just for community use but the potential for homes and other uses. The reality is that, in climate terms, it takes one tonne for every metre squared for a new build, but just half of that if we bring a previously occupied building into use. Therefore, not only is this urgent in terms of our need to access community and housing uses, it is absolutely in line with a long-term strategy. It is an opportunity, at a time when there is a focus on better use of energy and better avoidance of waste, to have a cross-government strategy to address vacancy and dereliction.

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I agree with the Deputy that it is much better to repurpose, refurbish and reuse the town centre buildings. Let us face it, the power is connected, the water is connected and it is also connected to the sewerage, so we do not have all of those added costs that apply when a build is started outside the town. We have been working very hard with local authorities. Revitalising rural towns and villages is a central objective of Our Rural Future.

The town and village renewal scheme was repurposed with provision for the purchase of vacant properties, and priority was given to projects that bring vacant and derelict buildings and sites back into use as multipurpose spaces and remote working hubs, and for residential occupancy. More than €19 million was announced for projects in February, €7.5 million for the building acquisitions measure in July and €2.6 million for streetscapes in August. The streetscapes initiative has proved very popular because it means a town is identified by the local authority and it gets €100,000. Businesses or community groups can apply for a grant to upgrade the premises or improve the shopfront and paint it. That is taking place in a few towns and it really has transformed them. It is a simple enough measure.

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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I completely agree that this is the right thing to do but we should be honest with ourselves. The CPO process has been dogged by slowness in moving. There is only one county that I know of that really takes it seriously, and only one, County Waterford, takes the repair and renewal scheme seriously. If we want to have a strategy on bringing derelict property into use, we have to get a national focus and not rely on overstretched local authorities, which do not seem to have the capacity to use some of the instruments necessary to drive this on.

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy is right. There are buildings that are lying vacant for years and we are all wondering why something cannot be done about them. As the Deputy and I well know, CPO is a complicated process as it stands. If a project misses one stage on the ladder, it goes back to the start, and that slows it down and delays it. The Town Centre First policy framework does contain a range of actions designed to achieve these objectives, such as the social and economic revival in towns. We have appointed Town Centre First officers and these are the things we will expect them to deal with. We obviously have to look at how we can acquire buildings that are falling down around our ears.

That is what we have to do. We will continue to work on it. It is fair to say that we have made considerable progress, when we look at some of the buildings in towns across the country that have got rural regeneration funding. There is massive investment to allow them to be repurposed as remote working hubs and for community use. If somebody cannot get a premises for some service in the town, there is no reason that they cannot go to that community building and find a space there. There has been massive investment and it is working. However, as the Deputy said, we have to keep at it and we can never take our foot off the accelerator when it comes to investing in and regenerating our towns and villages.